Book binding



H. N. STAATS Nov. 21, 1967 BOOK BINDING 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed July 16, 1965 Nov. 2l, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed July 16, 1965' 'FII PIE@

2 5 a 5 2 0 6 4. Z m E .W MMI/M m W /8 E 4 I j d F 4 l W 4 2 5 4 w l@ United States Patent O 3,353,844 BOOK BINDING Henry N. Staats, 1344 Linden Ave., Deerfield, Ill. 60015 Continuation of application Ser. No. 472,546, July 16, 1965. This application Mar. 7, 1967, Ser. No. 621,359 1 Claim. (Cl. 281-17) This application is a continuation of application 472,- 546, filed July 16, 1965, now abandoned.

This invention relates to a binder for a book or album and more particularly to a special purpose binder for books or albums having removable leaves.

Currently there are available on the market many binders that have a so-called loose leaf arrangement for removably retaining leaves in the binder. The pages or leaves are retained by means of split rings, threaded rods and many other devices which can be opened or disconnected to permit removal -and/or insertion of the pages.

In certain types of businesses or hobbies, the use of the available loose leaf binder arrangements are inappropriate for storing and/or displaying specific specimens or articles. For instance, in the coin collecting or numismatic business, it is desirable to store -and/or `display as many coins as is possible in -as compact an arrangement as can be devised. It has been found that books or albums serve this purpose well, but to date no one has been able to devise a way to conveniently Aand removably mount the leaves in book form with the -appropriate displaying feature of exposure to viewing of both sides of the coins.

Another example of an application for a binder for an album is the music business. Itis desirable to store records in covers which usually contain interesting data about the recording. Presently a group of records are available in album form, but the album is permanently bound and generally unchangeable.

In both the cited examples and in many other similar applications, the loose leaf binder arrangement is inappropriate, either requiring the punching of holes in the covers which in the case of music records is impossible, or requiring the attachment of supplemental ring receiving elements which are then assembled over the rings in the binders so that the pages can be flipped. All of the available methods of assembling leaves in a binder, particularly where the leaves are relatively thick, are quite unacceptable for the uses contemplated.

It is therefore a principal object of my invention to overcome the above noted disadvantages of binders for books and to provide an improved binder for the leaves of a book.

It is another object of my invention to provide an improved binder for the leaves of a book wherein the leaves may be readily inserted and removed one at a time without disturbing the other leaves in the book.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved backbone for a binder for a book which can be used for assembling, not only leaves inside the book, but also the covers for the book.

It is still a further object of my invention to provide an improved means for retaining leaves in assembled relation with a backbone of a binder.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved mounting member which can be attached to a leaf which can then be assembled with `a backbone of a book.

A still further object of my invention is to provide an improved binder for a book wherein a novel cooperation is established between the mounting portion of a leaf and the back-bone of the binder for holding the leaf in position against removal transverse to the plane of the binder.

Still another object of my invention is to provide an improved means for retaining leaves assembled in a binder against axial movement relative thereto.

ICC

And yet another object of my invention is to provide an improved means for retaining articles assembled in a lea of a book so as to be viewable from both sides of the And still another object of my invention is to provide an improved leaf for a binder permitting adjacent leaves to lie flat on either side of a leaf being examined.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved binder for leaves of a Ibook that can be turned freely and laid down without interference from previously or subsequently turned pages.

It is still another object of my invention to provide an improved backbone for a binder which can be extruded.

And another object of my invention is to provide an improved binder for books which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, easy and cheap to maintain, highly effective and efficient in use and extremely durable and long lasting in service.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent and more fully appreciated from the following `detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a bookhaving my improved binder for leaves or pages assembled therewith;

FIGURE 2 is a cross sectional enlarged view taken along the line 2--2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective View of a backbone or block of the form of my invention shown in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a mounting member of the form of my invention shown in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is an elevational side view, partially in section, of the form of my invention shown in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 6 6 of FIGURE 4 with the parts actually snapped together;

FIGURE 7 is an elavational side view of another form of my invention with parts broken away and in section;

FIGURE 8 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9 is a plan View of the attaching member of the form of my invention shown in FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 10 is a partial plan view, in section, of another and preferred form of my invention;

FIGURE 11 is a plan view, with parts broken away of a leaf or page of the lform of invention shown in FIG- URE 10;

FIGURE 12 is a cross sectional view taken along the 'line 12-12 of FIGURE 11;

FIGURE 13 is a partial enlarged elevational view illustrating in exaggerated form the shape of an attaching member of the form of the invention of FIGURE 10;

FIGURE 14 is a fragmentary side view of a leaf with an end cap in place and for clarity with the backbone removed;

FIGURE 15 is a partial enlarged elevational view illustrating another shape of an attaching member of the invention; and

FIGURE 16 is a partial view in section of a window in position in a leaf of the invention.

In the embodiments of the invention as shown and described in the drawing, similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views, and in particular in the form of the invention shown in FIGURES 1 through 6 inclusive, a book 10 is illlustrated as having a front cover member 12, a back cover member 14, a backing member 16 and a plurality of leaves 18. The covers 12 and 14 and the backing member 16 are made in any one of the usual ways, such as pressed cardboard covered with leather, plastic or the like. Between the covers 12, 14 and the backing 16 are flexible hinges 20 which will permit the covers to be folded back or opened readily.

A backbone or leaf carrying block 22 is removably attached to the backing member I6 by means of a mounting member 24. The backbone 22 is elongated and extends substantially from the top to the bottom of the backing member 16 so that the ends of the backbone are slightly offset or recessed from the edges of said backing member. The backbone, as shown in FIGURE 3, has a pair of oppositely disposed substantially parallel walls 25, 26 joined by the sides 27, 28. The backbone can be machined from a block of material or can be extruded from either metal or plastic material, thereby taking advantage of the relative inexpensive nature of this type of forming operation.

The 4backbone 22 has the one wall 26 formed with a relatively deep dovetail groove 29 throughout its length so that overhanging edges 30 and 31 of wall 26 restrict direct transverse access into and out of the dovetail groove 29 in the backbone. The other wall 25 has a plurality of elongate openings 33 lformed at least partially along the length off said face and extend inwardly therefrom into communication `with slots 35. The slots 35 are formed inward from at least one end of the backbone and extend at least partway throughout the length of said backbone. The width of the openings 33 are less than the cross sectional width of the slots 35, thereby limiting communication into and out of the slots 35. The slots 35 are shown as round in cross section but it is to be understood that the slots could be square, rectangular or any other cross sectional shape without departing from the invention. The openings 33 are formed transverse to the axis of the slots 35 for a purpose to be more fully described hereinafter.

The mounting member 24 which is formed of metal or plastic with a relatively high degree of rigidity is of a length Islightly longer than the -length of the backbone 22. The two end portions 37, 38 of the mounting member are adapted to be bent at ri-ght angles to the body portion 39 of the ymounting member. A pair of elongate wings or holding portions 41, 42 are bent slightly upward from the side edges of the body portion 39 and in final form are ovelapped by the end portions 37, 38 when said end portions are bent upwardly. A resilient plastic stop 43 is adapted to be fastened to the end portion 38 of the mounting member 24 so that when said end portion 38 is bent transverse to the body portion 39, the stop member 43 will extend upwardly therefrom. Stop member 43 can be attached to the end portion 38 by means of headed rivets 45 as shown in FIGURE 6 which rivets are carried by the stop 43 and are adapted to be forced through the openings 46 in the end portion 38 and due to the relative size of said snap 45 and its inherent plastic resiliency, substantially holds said mounting member 24 and stop 43 together.

The mounting member 24 is adapted to be secured to the inside face of the backing 16 of the book by means of a pair of rivets 48 which can be passed therethrough and attached to said backing 16 before the covering material is secured on said backing. In this way the mounting member 24 is to all intents and purposes rigidly secured to the backing 16 with the end portion 37 bent transverse to the plane of said backing 16.

The backbone 22 can be assembled with the mounting member 24 by inserting the overhangs 36, 31 of the dovetail groove 29 underneath the wings 41 and 42 and can be slid axially of the backbone 22 until the transverse end portions 37 and 38 abut the opposite ends of the backing 16. The assembly of the backbone to the mounting member 24 is accomplished before the end portion 38 is bent to the transverse position shown in FIGURE so that once the backing 16 and the backbone 22 are assembled, the end 38 and its stop 43 are bent upwardly into position. In this way the backbone is substantially permanently aflixed to the mounting member 24 and to the backing 16. The stop 43 will overlap one end of the slots 35 so as to restrict egress and ingress to the slots 35.

In the event the slots 35 extend completely through the backbone 22 as shown in FIGURES 3 and 5, the end portion 37 of the backing 16 acts to block the bottom end of said slots 35, preventing any member disposed in the slots from passing out that end of the slots in the backbone.

The leaves or pages 18 can be formed of any well known material but have been found to be particularly desirable when formed of plastic. The leaves 18 have a reasonable degree of thickness so that articles can be stored within the leaves between the planes of the opposite faces 49 and 56. Each leaf 18 has a main body portion 5I, a hinge portion 52, and a mounting portion 53. The hin-ge portion 52 is substantially thinner than the body portion 51 and the two are integrally joined together by a taper 5S. A mounting portion 53 is integrally formed with the hinge portion 52 and has a width substantially wider than the thickness of the hinge 52. The mounting portion 53 can have any particular shape desired although in its illustrated form it is shown circular in shape and conforms to the circular shape of the slots 35 formed in the backbone 22.

The leaves 18 are assembled with the backbone 22 by pivoting the stop means 43 on the mounting member 24 away from the end of the backbone 22 to expose the ends of the slots 35. The mounting portion 53 of the leaves are aligned with the slots 35 with the hinge portion 52 aligned with the openings 33 in the backbone 22. The leaves with the mounting portion 53 are moved axially in the slots 35 until the full length of the leaf is moved relative to the backbone 22. The mounting portion 53 will be completely disposed within the slot 35 with the stop means 43 again positioned over the end of the slot 35 to prevent the leaf and the mounting portion 53 from accidentally sliding out of the slot in the backbone 22. One or more leaves 18 can =be inserted in the backbone to make up an album or book 10.

The leaves 18 can be used to store coins which can then be viewed from both sides, medical specimens which likewise can be viewed from both sides, or other like items sought to be displayed. The leaves can be removed from the backbone if desired. The hinge portion 52 of the leaves are of such a length and are flexible enough to permit the leaves to pivot and lie substantially flat so that one leaf can be exposed with the other leaves folded away from the leaf sought to be examined.

Another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG- URES 7 through 9 wherein many of the parts are identical to the parts just described with respect to FIGURES 1 through 6 except that several transverse apertures 60 are drilled through the backbone 22 `from one side 28 to the other side 27. The apertures 60 are intended to intersect the openings 33 and the slots 35 somewhere between the front face 25 of the backbone 22 and the portion of slots 35 most removed from the face 25. The walls of the apertures 66 provide some space between said wall and the remote portion of the slots 35. A dowel pin or rod 61 is inserted in each aperture `60 and is secured in said aperture 60 by any well known means such as soldering, welding or the like.

A mounting portion or latching member 63, such as shown in FIGURE 9, is formed of a flexible material such as sheet plastic 62. A plurality of spaced apart substantially identical openings 64 are cut through said sheet 62 and are substantially centrally disposed down the middle thereof. Each opening 64 has a tongue or extended p0rtion 65 connected to the sheet `63 and projects into the opening 64. A predetermined part of each side portion of the sheet 62 has an adhesive or some such attaching Inaterial deposited therealong as at 66. The sheet 62 is adapted to be folded along the center line so as to produce the attaching member 63.

The tongues 64 will now serve as latching members and overhang the undercut portions 68 of the bayonettype slots 69 formed in the sheet 62. It is contemplated that the attaching member 63 can be glued or attached to one edge of a leaf or page 70. The leaf 70 can be the cover of a recording of the type used with phonographs or can be a sheet of material having apertures similar to the leaves 18 for displaying coins and the like. With the attaching member 63 secured to the leaf 70, the leaf is ready for insertion in the book 10. That is, the stop 43 on the backbone 22 is displaced away from the ends of the slots 35 an amount sufcient to permit the attaching member 63 to be inserted in the openings 33 and into the slots 35. Each tongue 65 will pass between adjacent dowels or rods 61 until the inner face of the tongue engages the remote portion of the slots 35. A short axial movement 0f the attachin-g member 63 of the leaf 70 in the slots 35 will set the bayonet slots 69 around the dowels 61 and prevent the leaf 70 from being pulled out of the backbone 22 in a direction transverse to the axis of the slots 35. The stop 43, due to its resiliency, will move back into position to seal the ends of the slots 35 to prevent accidental removal of the leaves 70 from the book.

The form of my invention shown in FIGURES through 14 is the preferred form and comprises the binding or backbone 75, front and rear covers 76 and 77, respectively, and leaves or pages 78. The backbone 75 is in principle the sarne as the backbone 22 with the exception that backbone 75 serves as the whole binder for the book. One wall or `face 8() of the binder or backbone 75 has a slightly undercut groove 81 which will permit an identification card to be secured under the overhanging portions of said groove 81 so that when the albu-m is standing on end the contents can be identified by reading the identication on the card. The opposite wall 83 of said backbone 75 has a plurality of openings 83 communicating with slots 84 in a fashion substantially the same as openings 33 and slots 35 of backbone 22. The Wall 82 has its two side portions 85 tapered at an angle of approximately 45 degrees from said wall 82 and have also formed therein openings 83 communicating with slots 84 in substantially the same manner described hereinabove.

The pair of covers 76, 77 which can be made of plastic or the like have an angle slot 87 formed therein near the mounting portion 89 of said covers. A hinged portion 88 and the mounting portion 89 are integrally formed with said covers 76 and 77 and are adapted to be assembled in the appropriate slots 84 in the backbone 75. When so positioned, the respective covers can be pivoted about the hinge 88 so that the faces of the slots 87 will become juxtaposed with respect to the tapered surfaces 85 on the wall 82 to support the Icovers in an open position. Each leaf or page 78 is formed with an enlarged mounting portion 90 integrally formed with the web or hinge portion 91 which in turn is integrally formed with the relatively thick body portion 92 of said leaf. The mounting portion 90 has a cylindrical portion 93 attached to an anchor portion 94 and is proportioned so that the width of the portion 93 is greater than the width of the portion 94. With the mounting portion 90 positioned on the slots 84, the portion 94 will be aligned with the openings 83 and the portion 93 will be nested in the slots 84.

With one or more of the covers 76, 77 in the open position, it can readily be seen that the leaves or pages 78 can be turned or laid on to the respective covers without interference from the adjoining or adjacent leaf. This is accomplished by means of the relatively long thin hinge member 91, which due to its thinness is relatively flexible and due to its length, permits complete bending of the hinge so as not to interfere with adjacent leaves no matter how many or how few leaves 78 are underneath it.

The cylindrical portion 93 of the mounting portion 90 can have several shapes which will tend to frictionally retain the member in its slot 84 against axial movement. As shown in FIGURE 13, a serpentine shape is given to the member 93 such that the zigzag configuration throughout its longitudinal length will create oppositely exposed surfaces 94 which will frictionally engage the walls of the slot 84 in the backbone and retain the leaves against axial movement within said slot in the backbone 75. To yremove the leaves, sufficient force to overcome the friction Ibetween surfaces 94 and slots 84 must be exerted axially of portion 93.

FIGURE 15 illustrates one other way to provide a shape to the cylindrical portion 93 of the leaves 78 for frictionally retaining the leaves in the backbone 75. The portion 93 has longitudinally spaced apart spherical or ball shaped members 95 formed along its length with the outer surfaces 96 of the balls extending outwardly from the surface of the body of the portion 93. The surfaces 96 will frictionally engage with the walls of the slot 84 in the backbone 75 to retain the leaves against axial shifting relative to the backbone.

For the sake of appearance and also to assure that the leaves will not accidentally slide out of the slots 84, a small groove or undercut 97 is formed near the opposite ends of the member 93. The grooves 97 are formed on the one side in from the plane of the leaf through most of the thickened portion 94 of the leaf. An end cap 98 is shaped to conform to the outside shape of the backbone 75 and has a slot 99 in which is formed the overhanging ledge 100. The ledge 100 will snap into the groove 97 of the portion 93 of the leaf for locking the leaves, backbone and cap together. The mounting portions 93 are slightly shorter than the leaves so that the caps can be fastened thereto and still not project beyond the confines of the book. The cap member 98 is shaped to t into the shortened portion of the leaves and into a similar portion in backbone 75 so that it can be snapped in position in the grooves 97 on portion 93 to give a nished appearance to the ends of the binder or backbone 75 and to retain said pages or leaves lmore positively in position therein.

In one form of my invention the leaves 92 would not have the grooves 97 and the extension beyond the grooves, while the two covers of the book would have the grooves 97. In this Way the leaves would be assembled to a backbone between the covers and a pair of caps 98 would be snapped into locking relation with the grooves in the cove-rs and would lie over the ends of the portions 93 of the leaves. In this way the leaves and covers would be held assembled on the backbone in a neat and ecient manner without necessitating a positive connection for each leaf to the caps 98.

A typical page or leaf 78 for use with the form of my invention shown in FIGURES 10 through 14 is illustrated in some detail in FIGURES 11 and 12 wherein the relatively thick molded plastic body portion 92 is shown divided into three substantially equal subdivisions or sections 102, 103 and 104. Each subdivision has an undercut groove 106 formed on ea-ch face thereof, which groove extends along the top, bottom and rear edges of said subdivision. Within the section or subdivision a plurality of openings or apertures 110 are formed. These apertures pass completely through the body 92 and have means for frictionally retaining coins in the apertures. For instance, three short webs 112 bridge across the inner diameter of the openings 110, reducing the effective inside diameter of each aperture. For simplicitys sake only one such aperture 110 is shown molded with the webs in place. These webs 112 are adapted to engage the outer periphery of a coin to hold the coin in position in said aperture. Small lugs or other article gripping means could be molded in the apertures 110 for the same gripping purposes. The leaves or pages 78 can be made up with different size apertures for different size coins and can be sold in that form.

The undercut grooves 106 of the subsections have a two-part form when viewed in cross section. That is, the groove 106 is formed with a first undercut part 107 and a reverse tapered part 108 joining the part 107 and the base of the subsection. This form of groove permits a transparent plastic window 109 to be slid into the grooves 106 of a subsection and, due tothe tapered part 108, the window will assume a concave bend or curve toward the base of the subsection, as seen in FIGURE 16. With the windows 109 bowed inwardly in this manner, the leaves or pages will lay flatter and the objects dispersed in the openings 110 can be viewed better than if the windows bulged outwardly from the base of the subsection. The deliberately induced inward bowing of the window also serves to hold the objects in position in the openings. With the windows bowed inwardly from both sides of the sections 102, 103, 104, the coins will be held in position in the leaf 78 and it will be possible to view both sides of a coin by merely turning the page over. The windows or transparent plastic will tend to protect the coins not only against the atmosphere, but also against touching by human hands which causes them to corrode or tarnish. Since the Webs 112 will be formed of an inert plastic or the like material, the edges of the coins will not tarnish due to a reaction between certain metals and the metal of the coins.

It is believed to be readily apparent that a dealer could stock long extruded strips of backbone material 75 which could be cut to lengths depending upon the length of leaves requested or to be used by a customer. The covers can be sold in different colors to suit the tastes of the customer and can be assembled with the backbone 75 by inserting the mounting portion 90 in the cover slots 84. The appropriate pages or leaves 78 can likewise be sold to the customer who will mount his own coins and insert the pages or leaves with the attaching portion 93 in the appropriate slots 84 whereby a complete book or album 10 is constructed. The covers can be readily opened and the pages freely ipped without interference from each other. The leaves or pages can be changed at will or can be removed for shipment or for other purposes without disrupting the balance of the book.

While I have shown and described certain embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that it is capable of many modications. Changes, therefore, in the construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as deined in the appended claim.

I claim:

A binder for leaves of a book, comprising: a backbone block of elongated substantially rigid material extending substantially from the top end to the bottom end of the book, said block having a constant cross-sectional conguration throughout such extent and one face exposed to the interior of the book, said backbone block having a plurality of side by side elongated open slots extending over the length of the block from the top end to the bottom end of the book, each slot having an opening throughout its length extending from the slot to said face -of the block expo-sed to the interior of the book, each such opening being of lesser width than the slot with which such opening extends, at least one Aleaf for said book, said leaf having an edge located member having a narrow neck portion and an enlarged extremity portion on the neck portion, said edge located member being elongated and of a size to be received in one of the slots and associated openings in the backbone block upon endwise axial sliding assembly movement of the block and leaf relative to each other, means retaining said leaf and block in assembled relation, and a front cover and back cover removably carried by said backbone block for enclosing said leaf therein, said backbone block carrying said front and back cover by interconnecting means comprising walls forming a generally dovetail groove along the length of the block on a side thereof spaced from the face of the block exposed to the interior of the book and a mounting member secured to the front and back cover and removably caught in said dovetail groove to assemble the backbone block and covers together.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,127,619 8/1938 Rosenthal 281-17 2,428,498 1,0/ 1947 McWilliams 129--20 X 2,521,792 9/ 1950 Hollander Y. 129-20 X 2,850,294 9/1958 Ortis et al. 129-20 X 3,074,744 1/1963v Pucci et al. 281-37 FOREIGN PATENTS 75,087 2/1961 France.

1,256,845 2/1961 France.

616,723 8/ 1935 Germany.

1,007,740 5/ 1957 Germany. 1,188,320 5/1965 Germany.

11,570 5/1913 Great Britain.

LAWRENCE CHARLES, Primary Examiner. 

